Four Roses 2015 Small Batch LE

[whiskeyagonzo]

I've been enjoying my bottle that's for sure. When I got home Thursday evening I immediately opened the 2015 & 125th for comparison. It's definitely the quality of bourbon that the 125th is, but heavier on the oak and spices. I don't feel they are out of proportion though. It's damn good. Just a different beast than the 125th. I love them both in different ways. Will revisit once they have a little time to breathe and see how they compare then.

[bigtoys]

so, are they sold out at the gift shop now?

[Richnimrod]

so, are they sold out at the gift shop now?

You'd have to call 'em up to be sure. It's entirely possible that they held some in reserve to sell there at some future time. Then again, maybe all that was to be sold there has been. Call 'em up!

[Robertsccr5]

I was at the distillery on Saturday and they did not have it. I will be at the bottling facility on Friday to check.

[kjbeggs]

I've been enjoying my bottle that's for sure. When I got home Thursday evening I immediately opened the 2015 & 125th for comparison. It's definitely the quality of bourbon that the 125th is, but heavier on the oak and spices. I don't feel they are out of proportion though. It's damn good. Just a different beast than the 125th. I love them both in different ways. Will revisit once they have a little time to breathe and see how they compare then.

Sounds like this will be right up my alley.

The question is, can i find a bottle without some back-alley shenanigans?

[The Black Tot]

Dangit - I was going to step aside on this one.

Looks like it's worth a little effort. Guess I've got to get my game shorts on.

[JGriff]

Sounds like it's just in KY right now. I'm going by my local store and see if he has heard of a GA release date. Gotta get my paws on this one.

[rcs86]

It hit the stores in Owensboro, KY last thursday around mid-day.

[elmossle]

It hit the stores in Owensboro, KY last thursday around mid-day.

[rcs86]

By the looks of your posts, you secured most of the bottles to hit Owensboro as well! Very jealous and still hoping to maybe find a second bottle to enjoy. Have found multiples the past two years but the hype with Jim's retirement might be too tough to over come this year. If I don't get another one, I will just have to cherish the one I have.

Haha I was pretty fortunate! Luckily I live in the "tri-state" region on the border of Kentucky and Indiana so i'm about a 10 minute drive from Evansville, IN which gets there stuff a little later than Kentucky. Hopefully they will be getting it in the next week or so as well

[flaminiom]

I got a shot of 2015 in Bardstown. I'm not sure it's up my alley. From the hype I was expecting to be blown away like the 125h, but I got good dose of medicinal phenolics. Also at first sip kind of sawdusty, but not oaky but more fresh barrel like. Kind of weird. I think if you like older Bourbons and don't mind the sometimes associated band-aids, (no and no for me) there's a lot of other stuff going on. As I sipped I eased into it more. $0.02.

[Hop]

I was able to get a glass at The Brown while in Luavul last week then a bottle later in the week - from the glass I had what I learned is this is a very complex bourbon that takes concentration to appreciate fully. Very good right off the bat but you have to pay attention to your palette since it's so varied in flavors - extremely good pour and very glad I secured a bottle.

[Auracom]

Opened mine tonight.

Finish is a touch more tannic than I'd prefer but the aroma and development is stellar in my book. And the spice... that K yeast hits on all cylinders. It is a true enigma here, interwoven banana, all the spices, balsamic, butter. Great example how rye can ADD to the savory component of a rich pour. Much more to be discovered I suspect but I am already satisfied with what Rutledge bottled here, at the end of things. Great job sir.

[whiskeyagonzo]

Opened mine tonight.

Finish is a touch more tannic than I'd prefer but the aroma and development is stellar in my book. And the spice... that K yeast hits on all cylinders. It is a true enigma here, interwoven banana, all the spices, balsamic, butter. Great example how rye can ADD to the savory component of a rich pour. Much more to be discovered I suspect but I am already satisfied with what Rutledge bottled here, at the end of things. Great job sir.

That is my only beef with this. It's a bit too Woody. Still pretty good bourbon doe.

[Auracom]

I'm an EC12 fiend so this is mostly a benefit for me.

[DPPSmoker]

I visited the Four Roses distillery and warehousing facility on Thursday and Friday of KBF. Both gift shops sold barrel strength single barrel bottles of the F, V and O yeasts. I knew that Four Roses has stopped bottling the Q yeast in an effort to save their existing inventories for their Yellow Label bottles. But what about the K yeast bottles? Has their been any word from Four Roses about the K?

[Jace]

Just opened one of mine today. I was disappointed with the nose at first(that one needs time) so the first sip really surprised me. Haven't had the 125th, but this is the best FR-juice I've ever had. I don't think I've ever had a bourbon that develops this much on the palate. After coming down from the bourbon-euphoria, I'm just left with the question: Should I spend the rest of this years bourbon-budget and bunker some of this? Tough one...

[Charlutz]

Wandered into a store here in Maryland that occasionally has some interesting stuff, but isn't in my usual rotation to check. They had a single bottle for $96. I wasn't specifically looking for this, but after looking into it, I picked it up. Interested in giving it a try.

[Richnimrod]

My comment to Jace and Charlutz:

This, IMHO, is the best currently made/bottled whiskey I've gad in several years. Wonderfully complex, yet mellow. I agree the nose needs a bit of air to develop. After a few pours from the bottle I have, and several weex since originally opening it; it now is absolutely stellar, on the nose as well as the palate...and, the finish is so long and even. GREAT stuff!!!!

I need to do a SBS with the 125th. I wouldn't bet against either of 'em in that contest; but I'm leaning toward the current offering for now.

[taddraughn]

My comment to Jace and Charlutz:

This, IMHO, is the best currently made/bottled whiskey I've gad in several years. Wonderfully complex, yet mellow. I agree the nose needs a bit of air to develop. After a few pours from the bottle I have, and several weex since originally opening it; it now is absolutely stellar, on the nose as well as the palate...and, the finish is so long and even. GREAT stuff!!!!

I need to do a SBS with the 125th. I wouldn't bet against either of 'em in that contest; but I'm leaning toward the current offering for now.

I'm so excited to try this stuff for myself. After trading some away, I decided to keep these last two for myself. Might wait till a special occasion to crack one open. Maybe when I finish exams here in a couple weeks. (Trying to make up some occasions lol)

[bin31z]

Gah I need this in my life!!

[Louisiana]

Me too! Ended up getting the LE's I wanted except for this one.

Maybe one will pop up, but I'm not holding my breathe.

[Charlutz]

My comment to Jace and Charlutz:

This, IMHO, is the best currently made/bottled whiskey I've gad in several years. Wonderfully complex, yet mellow. I agree the nose needs a bit of air to develop. After a few pours from the bottle I have, and several weex since originally opening it; it now is absolutely stellar, on the nose as well as the palate...and, the finish is so long and even. GREAT stuff!!!!

I need to do a SBS with the 125th. I wouldn't bet against either of 'em in that contest; but I'm leaning toward the current offering for now.

That is quite the endorsement! I'm going to enjoy having it sealed on the shelf for a while and crack it on a special occasion, but really looking forward to it. Love 4R stuff.

[cho]

Had this SBS with the 13,14 and 15 the past night.

I rate the 15 >> 13 > OBSK > 14

The reason I rank the 15 much higher than the extremely well balanced 13 is that it packs more of the K yeast finish that I love in Four Roses. The 13 is obviously much more well rounded but the 15 has a better character. If I had to put an analogy, it would be like the 13 is to a blended scotch like JW Blue where as the 15 is a Benrinnes 23 or a laphroaig cask strength where the unique characters of it's distillery are very present.

I will do a blind SBS soon with 13/14/15/OBSK/OESK to make sure the conclusions I came to are fair are correct independent of rarity of said bottles but for now I can see how people are going through this bottle in lightning speed.

Edited November 27, 2015 by cho

[Scotch Neat]

I have never seen the Four Roses limited releases in NY, what gives?